In the final years of Mughal rule in Delhi, an artist painted a portrait of Ghulam Nasir al-Din, a spiritual adviser to Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar. Known as Kale Miyan, he was a respected religious figure whose influence extended to the imperial court. The painting, dated 1851-52, is now considered the only known portrait of him. After appearing on the American art market in 2000, the rare work sold at Christie's in London for £63,500 on April 28, 2026.
According to the
official website of British auction house Christie's, the painting was created in Mughal Delhi by a follower of Ghulam Ali Khan, regarded as one of the foremost painters of 19th-century Delhi. The work was offered as part of The Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection of Indian Painting and Calligraphy. The auction house estimated it at £30,000 to £50,000. The final price of £63,500 exceeded the upper estimate by £13,500.
A portrait from the last years of the Mughal court
The painting depicts Kale Miyan seated between two attendants in a formal setting. Made with opaque pigments heightened with gold on paper and laid down on card, it measures approximately 23 by 33.8 cm. A halo-like nimbus around the central figure draws attention to his religious standing, while his relatively simple clothing reflects his spiritual identity.
According to Christie's website, the subject is identified as Ghulam Nasir al-Din, also known as Miyan Kali Sahib Qibla. An inscription on the painting describes it as the “Blessed likeness of His Excellence Ghulam Nasir al-Din known as Miyan Kali Sahib Qibla” and gives the date as 1268 in the Hijri calendar, corresponding to 1851-52.
The painting also identifies two members of his family and spiritual lineage: his father, Qutb al-Din, and his grandfather, Fakhr al-Din. According to Christie's, their names appear in the inscriptions, highlighting the religious lineage associated with Kale Miyan. The auction house notes that Kale Miyan's family traced its lineage to Nizam al-Din, whose shrine was in Aurangabad. His grandfather Fakhr al-Din moved to Delhi in the mid-18th century, and his father Qutb al-Din succeeded him.
Kale Miyan served as the ‘murshid,’ or spiritual guide, to Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal emperor, who ruled from 1837 to 1857. The portrait was made only a few years before the Indian Rebellion of 1857, which brought Mughal rule in Delhi to an end.
The man known as Kale Miyan
The nickname Kale Miyan means “The Black Gentleman” and referred to his dark complexion, according to Christie's. His reputation was closely tied to his spiritual role rather than the display of wealth or imperial power. As per the auction catalogue, Thomas Beale's ‘Oriental Biographical Dictionary of British India,’ published in 1895, stated that Ghulam Nasir al-Din always “preferred the habit of a dervish”. The painting's simple clothing and religious halo are consistent with the spiritual identity described in the catalogue. Bahadur Shah Zafar's relationship with his spiritual adviser remained significant even after the collapse of the Mughal court. Following the 1857 uprising, the British exiled the emperor to Yangon, then known as Rangoon, in present-day Myanmar.
According to the Christie's
catalogue, Zafar asked his captors for the privilege of being buried alongside his spiritual guide. That request was not granted. The circumstances of Kale Miyan's death remain uncertain. Some accounts place his death in 1852, while the poet Mirza Ghalib, who knew him, claimed that the British killed him during the siege of Delhi. Ghalib also recorded the destruction of Kale Miyan's ancestral home, describing it as though a broom had swept it away, leaving no scrap of paper, thread of gold or yarn of wool. The conflicting accounts underline how much of the history surrounding Kale Miyan remains difficult to establish.
The artist behind the rare image
Christie's attributes the painting to a follower of Ghulam Ali Khan, whose career spanned the first half of the 19th century. Although the artist behind this particular work is not identified by name, the auction house says the painting carries the hallmark style of the Delhi painter's school. Ghulam Ali Khan worked for both Indian and European patrons. He began as a topographical artist before turning to portraiture and is associated with works documenting people, places and court life in northern India. He also worked at regional courts, including those of Alwar, Jhajjar and Dujana.
A second drawing on the reverse
The artwork has another detail that is easy to overlook. As per Christie's website, the reverse of the sheet carries a pen-and-ink drawing of boats moored by Patna. The portrait and the drawing on its reverse bring together two different kinds of visual record on the same sheet: a carefully composed image of a prominent religious figure and a scene of boats along a riverfront.
The painting's documented ownership history is relatively brief. Christie's lists its provenance as the American art market in 2000, before it entered the collection offered in London in 2026.